Vernon Dursley
*Grey *White |eyes=Blue |skin=Pink |family=*Mr Dursley (father) *Mrs Dursley (mother) *Marjorie Dursley (sister) *Petunia Dursley (wife) *Dudley Dursley (son) *Mrs Dursley (daughter-in-law) *Grandchildren *Mr Evans (father-in-law) † *Mrs Evans (mother-in-law) † *Lily Potter (sister-in-law) † *James Potter (brother-in-law) † *Harry Potter (nephew) *Ginevra Potter (niece-in-law) |hidem=yes |job=Drill Salesman at Grunnings |loyalty=*Dursley family *Grunnings}} Vernon Dursley (c. 1960) was a Muggle, husband of Petunia Evans, father of Dudley and uncle of Harry Potter. He lived in 4 Privet Drive along with his wife and son for nearly twenty years until they were forced into hiding during the escalation of the Second Wizarding War. After Petunia's sister Lily and brother-in-law, James Potter, were killed by Voldemort, Petunia remained the sole surviving blood relative of Harry's. Both Wizard and Muggle law demanded that Petunia and Vernon be the new legal guardians of Harry Potter, which they accepted (albeit reluctantly). However, they disliked Harry and treated him badly, while spoiling Dudley. When Harry was sent a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Vernon got very angry, as he detested anything to do with magic. He was a former student of Smeltings Academy and a director of the Grunnings drill manufacturing company. In 1997, Vernon, Petunia and Dudley left their house in order to be hidden from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. After the Second Wizarding War, Vernon had at least two grandchildren through Dudley and his wife. It is possible that he had a better relationship with Harry and that they remained in contact. Through the union of Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley, Vernon had two great-nephews, James Potter II and Albus Potter, as well as a great-niece, Lily Potter. Biography Childhood life Little is known about Vernon's childhood life. He was born into the Muggle Dursley family and attended Smeltings Academy as a secondary school. Vernon had an older sister named Marjorie (Marge to family members and friends) who made a living breeding bulldogs. Vernon met Petunia Evans at an office job in London where he was junior executive. backstory of Vernon Durlsey and Petunia Evans He later married Petunia and settled with her at 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey in 1977.In a deleted scene on Disc Two of the Blu-ray edition of , Petunia tells Harry, "I have lived in this house for twenty years," indicating she settled at 4 Privet Drive with Vernon in 1977, since the scene is set in 1997. Before their wedding Vernon had taken Petunia on a series of dull dates during which he talked mainly about himself and his predictable ideas on the world. After some time Vernon proposed marriage to Petunia, very correctly on one knee in his mother's sitting room. His fiancée accepted at once. He wasn't aware of the fact that Petunia's sister Lily was a witch, who was then at her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Petunia eventually revealed to him that her sister was a witch after they stopped for a snack of battered sausage at a chip shop. Family life Vernon, along with his wife, always liked to be normal and never tolerated anything that they considered out of the ordinary. He knew that Petunia's sister was a witch, but kept it quiet. They had a baby boy on 23 June, 1980. This boy, Dudley Dursley, was highly spoiled by his parents. Giving a home to Harry Potter It was after Lord Voldemort's first downfall and the Potters' murder that Vernon first saw signs of wizards. Albus Dumbledore brought Vernon's nephew Harry to Little Whinging. Although reluctantly, Vernon and Petunia allowed him into their home. During Harry's early life, Vernon treated him with indifference. He forced Harry to live in the cupboard under the stairs and generally mistreated him while spoiling his own son Dudley. Vernon tried his hardest to stop Harry knowing about the wizarding world. Before 1991 Vernon told Harry his parents died in a car crash. Vernon once told off Harry for dreaming about a flying motorbike and told Harry there was no such thing as magic. Dudley's attack and contact with the wizarding world In 1995, Vernon learned that Lord Lord Voldemort had returned. Furthermore, Dudley was attacked by Dementors and Harry had to rescue him via Patronus Charm. - Chapter 2 (A Peck of Owls) When he heard that Harry was in deep trouble with the Ministry of Magic because of the letter from Mafalda Hopkirk, Vernon became elated, uttered the word "Justice." He locked Harry into his room for several days until leaving with his wife and son, to accept an award for the best kept lawn in England. In fact, it was a trick of Nymphadora Tonks, who had sent the Dursleys an invitation to a fake awards ceremony. Tonks then escorted Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place, along with a group of wizards.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 3 (The Advanced Guard) It is unknown if Vernon ever discovered this, but it is likely that he was indignant at the ploy. Hiding from Death Eaters In the summer of 1997, Petunia, Dudley, and Vernon were placed under the protection of Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, as it was believed that once Harry Potter turned seventeen, Lord Voldemort would track down all members of his family and torture information out of them. Vernon, his wife and his son all left together: he did not care what would happen to Harry and it was Dudley, who had grown to respect Harry for saving his soul, who brought up the issue, though Vernon said little to Harry. After their goodbyes, the Dursleys were driven off into the distance, leaving Harry alone on his quest. Petunia and Dudley actually felt a certain amount of fondness towards Harry as they parted in 1997. Vernon was about to shake Harry's hand good-bye. However, because of his dislike of both Harry and magic overall, refrained from doing so at the last second. He left as quickly as possible, hoping to save himself from what he only knew as a very bad and powerful wizard, Lord Voldemort. Physical appearance Vernon was described as a big, beefy man with a large purple face. He had thick, dark hair, a bushy black moustache, with hardly any neck and small, blue, mean eyes. Dudley much resembled him apart from his blond hair. Personality and traits Vernon was a Muggle and like Petunia, he detested and was afraid of magic and anything unusual or out of the ordinary, which he labelled as "funny business" in 1981. Naturally, he despised Harry, who was very much a symbol of both. In fact, Vernon's disdain for Harry was so great that Vernon even prohibited his nephew from saying words such as "magic" or "wizard" inside the house. Vernon was a petty-minded bully who was intolerant of people who were different than himself. He was shown to be unsympathetic to beggars and vagrants. He was very much concerned with status and wealth and tended to judge people based on how big their cars were or their clothes. He enjoyed ordering around his employees at Grunnings, enjoying his status and power as director of his company, sitting above them in a high office on the ninth floor. He advocated the death penalty, claiming that "...hanging's the only way to deal with these people," showing his very harsh view of criminal justice. Vernon liked to look big and impressive, yet was easily intimidated whenever he was put in situations that he was not used to, e.g., dealing with certain individuals,'' i.e., wizards, ''e.g., Albus Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, Alastor Moody, Rubeus Hagrid, etc. He was also shown to be quite oblivious to small things, particularly when cross, such as in 1992 when he asked Harry if he looked stupid to him when he became annoyed with the boy: he had a bit of fried egg sticking to his moustache. Sometimes when he was angry, Vernon would mumble, barely forming complete sentences. He was also shown to be very conservative in his political views, as he read the Daily Mail, a British tabloid famed for its right-wing political stance. He also seemed to have a low opinion of the state of the UK, saying: "No wonder the country's going to the dogs!" upon finding out that there was a Ministry of Magic, a popular Daily Mail editorial stance. He was a complainer and his favourite subjects included people at work, the council, the bank, motorbikes, as well as most of all: Harry. He showed his disdain to Harry with nasty smiles and he was not afraid of physical confrontations, going as far as wrestling with his son, Dudley, to confiscate Harry's Hogwarts acceptance letter. He frequently became angry and he received brandy from his wife when he was rendered speechless by the "vanishing glass" incident at the zoo. Relationships Family Dursley family Vernon married Petunia Evans after having met her at work and likely learned of the wizarding world through her. He was deeply shocked, though, when Petunia confessed the truth however, he told Petunia solemnly that he would never hold it against her that she had a freak for a sister. Then Petunia threw herself upon him in such violent gratitude that he dropped his battered sausage. Together they did everything they could to keep their nephew Harry from learning the truth about his heritage and abilities and bossing him in any sort of ways. They also endlessly pampered and spoiled their only son, Dudley. Vernon spoiled Dudley in a similar manner to his wife: they appear to buy Dudley anything he wants, often apparently to waylay a tantrum and indulged him with treats and activities, particularly those which Harry was not allowed. However, there is evidence that Vernon and Petunia were indulgent of their son's behaviour and contributed to his obesity before Harry was introduced to the household. They were frequently shown to be oblivious to his bullying and at times, criminal behaviour, Vernon showing pride in his son and interpreting some of these characteristics as manly. Vernon had a similar physique to Dudley, also being very large and when convinced to make Dudley diet by the school nurse, was forced disapprovingly to join in the family's regime, whereas previously he and his immediate family considered Dudley merely to have a healthy appetite. He became very proud of Dudley's resulting sporting achievements when this enforced exercise and diet helped him become a competing boxer, believing Dudley gave the Dementors the "ol' one-two" when they attacked him in 1995. He was, however, oblivious to the fact that Dudley used his new skills to terrorise neighbourhood children. Harry Potter Vernon saw Harry as nothing more than a waste of space. Throughout his life, he tried to keep Harry as downtrodden as possible, in hopes of squashing the magic out of him. He lived in fear of anyone finding out about Harry's "abnormality". Vernon rarely referred to Harry by name, instead referring to him as "the boy" or "You", both to Harry directly and in conversation. Vernon would have a tendency to throw fits whenever Harry (either accidentally or intentionally) used words such as "magic", "wand", "Hogwarts", or "broomstick" in the house. Both guests and neighbours believed Vernon's explanation that Harry attended , rather than the local comprehensive. Vernon even told Mr Mason and his wife that Harry was "disturbed" when explaining his sudden presence in the house in 1992. Though Petunia felt some moral obligation to let Harry stay (however grudgingly and bitterly), Vernon felt nothing towards his nephew. He had no trouble throwing him out of the house, despite full knowledge that doing so would put his life in grave danger. Petunia, however, intervened when Dumbledore sent her a Howler, reminding her of the agreement she made when they took in Harry. Additionally, when Harry was forced to go to court for underage magic, Vernon openly admitted that he hoped that Harry would get the death penalty. However, despite his dislike of Harry, he would still go to King's Cross Station to collect him from the Hogwarts Express at the end of each school year. Vernon would later become an uncle-in-law to Harry's wife, Ginevra Weasley and a great-uncle to Harry and Ginny's children, James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter. James Potter Vernon Dursley's first meeting with James Potter went badly. Vernon asked James what car he drove, but James described his racing broom, thus Vernon started patronising him and finally offended James by supposing out loud that wizards had to live on unemployment benefit. Having heard from the wizard that he had a fortune in solid gold, he grew angry and stormed out of restaurant, where they had met with their wives. After that Vernon refused to talk with James, but described him, within James’ earshot, as "some kind of amateur magician". Etymology Vernon is from a French last name for "alder tree". is a town in Gloucestershire, England. J. K. Rowling has commented that she visited the place as a child and hated it, which likely affected her choice of surname for the awful family, remarking "I don't imagine I'm very popular in Dursley". 2001 BBC Online Chat The town is known for it's Victorian history in coal mining. Rowling chose the name because it sounded "dull and forbidding". Notes and references